Study: Optimism in the Workplace Doesn’t Actually Affect Performance

Co-Authored by Elizabeth Tenney, David Eccles School of Business
assistant professor of management

April 14, 2015 11:42 AM Eastern Daylight Time

SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--We’ve all been told to whistle while we work because a cheerful, hopeful
worker is better at a job than one who isn’t. But is that really true?

Elizabeth Tenney, assistant professor of management at the University of
Utah David Eccles School of Business, explored the subject in the paper
she co-authored, “(Too) Optimistic About Optimism: The Belief that
Optimism Improves Performance” in the Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology.

“I am interested in the question of when do people value optimism and
think it is a really useful or good mindset for people to have, and when
do they think that other mindsets might be better,” Tenney said. “I kept
hearing about how optimistic mindset was so great, but then you think
about all the times that striving for accuracy might be better for the
individual.”

In the end, her study found that optimism didn’t help a person’s
performance as much as people thought it would.

However, Tenney speculates that there are two places where others would
value optimism. The first would be in a situation where business
executives or leaders needed to motivate their employees.

The second situation would be when a business leader or entrepreneur
needed to win someone over to a new idea or to invest in a new company.

“People are going to think that you need that optimism in order to
perform, and they will expect your optimism and value it, but how much
that optimism actually ends up helping you, well that’s another
question,” Tenney said.

Founded in 1917 in Salt Lake City, the David Eccles School of Business
offers eight undergraduate majors, four MBAs, five other graduate
programs, a Ph.D. program, and executive education offerings. The Eccles
School operates the country’s largest student-run venture capital fund
with $18.3 million. It is home to the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute
and Sorenson Center for Discovery and Innovation. Approximately 4,500
students are enrolled in its undergraduate, graduate and executive
degree programs. For more information, visit business.utah.edu or call
801-581-7676.